Kelseanne Breder

Abstract

Social support is considered an imperative component of healthy aging and has been found to foster resilience against mental illness. The National Institute of Health has called for research to investigate social support as a protective mechanism for health disparities populations, including LGBT older adults. This integrative review is the first to comprehensively examine the characteristics of social networks maintained by LGBT adults age 50 and older. A comprehensive electronic literature search was conducted for articles published before September 2019. A manual search was also conducted among the reference lists of articles yielded. Articles that presented empirical data, described communities and social networks, and examined participants who self-identify as LGBT adults over the age of 50 were included. Nineteen articles met inclusion criteria. The Convoy Model of Social Relations was used to synthesize findings into categories of structure (size, composition, geographic proximity, and contact frequency), function (instrumental and emotional), and quality (positive and negative) of social support. Results indicate that diverse social networks are protective against age-related illness; intersectional minorities, and individuals who struggle with homophobia in the family of origin are at greatest risk for low network diversity, functional support deficits, and risks to psychological well-being. This review identifies that future research is needed to investigate the role that online social networks play in mediating social support needs in this population.

Abstract

Background • Female infertility is a complex issue encompassing a wide variety of diagnoses, many of which are caused or affected by adhesions. Objectives • The study intended to examine the rates of successful treatment of infertile women using a protocol of manual physical therapy to address underlying adhesive disease leading to infertility. Methods • The research team designed a retrospective chart review. Setting • The study took place in a private physical therapy clinic. Participants • Participants were 1392 female patients who were treated at the clinic between the years of 2002 and 2011. They had varying diagnoses of infertility, including occluded fallopian tubes, hormonal dysfunction, and endometriosis, and some women were undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Intervention • All patients underwent whole-body, patientcentered treatments that used a protocol of manual physical therapy, which focused on restoring mobility and motility to structures affecting reproductive function. Outcome Measures • Improvements demonstrated in the condition(s) causing infertility were measured by improvements in tubal patency and/or improved hormone levels or by pregnancy. Results • The results included a 60.85% rate of clearing occluded fallopian tubes, with a 56.64% rate of pregnancy in those patients. Patients with endometriosis experienced a 42.81% pregnancy rate. The success rate was 49.18% for lowering elevated levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), with a 39.34% pregnancy rate in that group, and 53.57% of the women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) achieved pregnancy. The reported pregnancy rate for patients who underwent IVF after the therapy was 56.16%. The results also suggested that the treatment was effective for patients with premature ovarian failure (POF). Conclusion • The manual physical therapy represented an effective, conservative treatment for women diagnosed as infertile due to mechanical causes, independent of the specific etiology.